It's Time for a Twitter Chat Intervention

I decided to take my first personal day in I don't know how many years and extend my weekend so that I could take a well deserved mini-vacation in Goa. It sounded great in theory, three full days of lazing in the sun reading David Sedaris's newest book with work the furthest thing from my mind...and then Twitter shattered my fantasy.  Saturday evening while recovering from a day of burning my pasty white skin poolside in my decadent air conditioned hotel room, I found myself following along with #satchat followed by #satchatwc, while pretending to work on my report card comments so that I could avoid some serious mocking from my friend.  Then on Sunday, after a hot stone massage, I found myself alone in the room trying to regain consciousness while my friend was having a facial. That is when  #suncat that @barbarawmadden has renamed #sinchat happened.  Not even the gorgeous sunset pictured above, or the arrival of my friend catching me in the act could tear me away from the great discussion led by @mssackstein about how to keep students engaged in their learning until the end of the year (more on this in my next post). 
After half an hour of disapproving looks, I finally closed the computer and embraced a glass of wine (the chat was over after all).  Judgy McJudgerson might have also shamed me with some disparaging comments that included things like "rock bottom", "addicted", "workaholic", and "Twitter ninja".  That last one might have been mine.  Did I mention the wine? 

Fast forward to the next morning.  I woke up refreshed and satisfied that I had the strength of conviction to still be in Goa while the rest of my colleagues and students were on their way to school.  Such a rebel!  So I made us some coffee, and then crawled back into bed and opened my computer...​

...to #CAEdchat happening right before my very eyes!  For those of you not familiar with hashtag lingo, #CaEdchat stand for California Ed chat... as in for teachers in CALIFORNIA.  Trying to be discreet, I started reading the feed while "checking my email".  It was too good to pass up.  I don't even remember what happened for the remainder of that hour, but the next thing I knew, I was signing up to be part of a book chat on Daniel Pink's new book, "To Sell is Human" led by@clonghb, a physics teacher in... wait for it...California!  When I told Judgy McJudgerson what I was doing, I had one of those out of body experiences where you see yourself for who you really are.  For some reason hearing it out loud made it real.  I am THAT guy!  You know, the one that hijacks a state specific Twitter chat and then joins their summer book club.  Having said that, a part of me was still in denial, until @clonghb posted this...

...a map of our book club.  Ouch! I guess it IS time for an intervention. I admit it; I need to go to Twitter Chat rehab...but after I finish the book.  I started reading it on the flight and I don't want to miss this chat! Baby steps. 

For now however, it is getting late, and I have to get up early for work after taking three days "off".  After all, I have to do something with all of these ideas I have from my weekend "vacation".  Not to mention, tomorrow is Tuesday and you know what that means...#edchat!  ​

Twitter Chats: "Speed Dating" for Educators

Tagxedo cloud created from tweet responses to the first question, "What role have apps played for you as an educator?"​

Every Saturday morning, educators from around the world come together on Twitter to collaborate, share ideas, create, problem solve, discuss hot topics in education, and well...to chat.  There are three main chats that I frequent on Saturdays: #satchat, #satchatwc, and #rechat.  Each chat lasts for only an hour, but if the topic fits your passion, you could potentially learn more in that hour than you would from an entire conference.  Really.  This is why I refer to Twitter chats as "speed dating" for educators. Like speed dating, most people are resistant to the idea of participating in a Twitter chat because it can be overwhelming. Unlike speed dating, all of these chats are archived, and there are apps like Tweetdeck that will allow you to move at your own pace and ensure that you don't miss ANYTHING!  To illustrate this, I am going to walk you through the last #satchatwc that I participated in, via the archive.  You can follow along with the archive of this chat on Storify. 

​How do chats work?

Twitter chats typically have 1-3 moderators that initiate and facilitate the discussion around a pre-determined topic.  Again, typically there are a series of questions that are posted by the moderators with the format Q1, Q2 etc.  To respond to these questions, the participants begin their tweets with the corresponding A1, A2 etc. to keep track of the discussion.  To maintain the chat thread, each tweet included the hashtag of the chat for filtering purposes.  At the bottom of this post, I have included links to resources about participating in chats and getting the most out of the experience.  Below you will find my personal takeaways from last Saturday's chat on the use of apps in education.  Once you get the hang of it, you should stop reading this post and dig into the archive to create your own personal learning from this chat.  I then encourage you to explore the ideas that intrigue you the most, and look for ways to creatively integrate some of these ideas into your practice. If you find your interest piqued by one of the tweeps in this chat, expand your PLN and follow them on Twitter.  So without further ado…

​You might want to follow @drjolly and @dculberhouse

Why are apps in education awesome? Because apps...

• ​increase engagement for everyone (most mentioned)
  
• facilitate collaboration between students and teachers
• are resources for remediation or enrichment; differentiation
• allow for creativity/ design
• save time and help with organization and efficiency

I like it.  Going to follow @TaraWoodall

• good for recording student/teacher observations and provide feedback ​
• facilitate the creation of videos ​for student projects, tutorials etc.
  
• ​improve the quality of communication between students, teachers and parents
  
• allow for self-pacing
• are good for tactile learners
  
• help students to grow socially and develop relevant technology skills
  

• add rigor without sacrificing engagement
• have web-based counterparts; great for BYOD
• are great for workflow
• can serve as LMS/CMS

Strategies for using/introducing apps in schools/classrooms?

• leaders should encourage experimentation in the classroom with iTunes gift cards, coupons, or other rewards/ acknowledgement and then give teachers the freedom to take risks and innovate
  
• create sharing opportunities in your school
  
• teachers should set individualized tech integration goals for integration "introduce one app every two weeks until the end of the year"
• introduce to class, evaluate, then share out with colleagues; take risks

Following @JenRoberts1... maybe she will reveal her apps list :-)

• carve out time during faculty time (PLC's, meetings, PD days) for tech teacher leaders, teachers, students etc. to share useful and innovative apps (as described below) with other faculty members. 
  
• ​ when sharing apps, document by creating collaborative lists of apps to share with a description of each app's educational value, purpose, usefulness, effectiveness and suggest strategies for integration
  

• provide support for teachers on integration of apps into their teaching and learning practices.  ​
• provide teachers with the devices ​and give them time for exploration and experimentation
  
• preload standard "gotta have" apps ​on devices then provide PD before the year begins.

At the very least, you should already be following @drjolly.​

• (admin and teacher leaders) model use of apps in meetings

I like the calendar idea...maybe not on Fridays :-) 

• ​have students share what apps they think would be best to use ​​​(@Sabrapro)

Tara is a repeat offender in my Tweet favorites.  I like how she thinks! ​

• when evaluating apps, ask yourself: "Does this tech make my instruments more effective?  Does this tech promote 21st century skills for my students?  ​
• be willing to try and then fail/succeed and then try again. Take risks.​

Love the idea of a smackdown! 

By this point most people should be at the very least intrigued by the idea of using educational apps in your classroom, while others are ready to dive in with both feet.  ​The next question brings us to why these chats are so valuable to me.  The links.  Links = going down the rabbit hole of PD.  140 characters turns into an endless supply of relevant insightful blog posts, new websites to explore, new apps to try out, and new ideas to process and use as a springboard for creativity and integration in your teaching. Time to explore whatever peaks your curiosity or makes you mind engage. 

​Links and apps to explore after this chat: 

• ​TWITTER (mentioned COUNTLESS TIMES)
  
• Bloom's Taxonomy vs. apps, an iPedagogy wheel
• PBL using Trello, an web-based app with mobile versions​
• Cybraryman's links for App Smackdown archives​
• ​Tweetdeck
  
• Todaysmeet
• Evernote
• Edcanvas
• Diigo
• Explain Everything
• HaikuDeck
• ​DIY PD using Twitter, Flipboard, Pinboard, Instapaper, and Feedly
  
• ​Flipboard 2.0: New features and tricks
  
• Hootsuite
• Teacher Cast
• Linked-in
• Zite
• Youtube Capture
• @voicecomments ​
• Screencastomatic​
• ​Paper.li
• ScoopIt
• ​How to Survive and Thrive in a Twitter Chat
  
• Symbaloo
• Dropbox
• iMovie; check out this teacher's use of iMovie trailers
  
• Edmodo
• ​Feedly
• Socrative ​
• @poweroficu
• GAFE
• Form Emailer
• Doctopus
• Google+ Hangouts

• Pinterest
• SlideRocket
• Keynote on iPad and iPhone
• Prezi
• Teachers, invite them and they will tweet​
• #geniushour
• EMD PTE for chemistry teachers
• @remind101
• Thinglink
• Reflector app
• TwitterFall for screen projection
• ​EdCanvas
• Post about making time for all of this exploration​

Definitely follow this guy!

And the list goes on and on.  So what now?  I plan to choose a few of these apps that I am interested in exploring further and start researching on Google, Twitter, and the blogosphere.  Blogs are a great resource for learning about apps because educators will explain how they use them in their classes and include suggestions for use and strategies for effective integration.  This is a good way to spark your imagination. 

The great thing about Storify archives is that you can interact with the people from Storify itself.  In fact while writing this post, I replied to several of the people with questions, suggestions etc.  I also added people to my PLN that I missed the first time around.  Time to dig deeper.  ​Here is the link to the archive again in case you made it all the way to the end of this blog :-)  I am exhausted after reviewing this hour long chat, so I will take a brain break and start working through my long list of takeaways later! 

Questions for you:  ​What were your takeaways?  What is one app that you want to explore further?  Are there any apps that you would add to this list?  It isn't too late to share.  Just include the hashtag #satchatwc in your tweet. How many people did you add to your PLN? Are you ready to give "Speed Dating" a try? 

There is a Twitter chat for everyone, and there are several chats scheduled every day.  Check out @cybraryman1's schedule of chats to find one that engages your interests and passion for learning.  There is even a chat called #tlap, or teach like a pirate!  Sorry to disappoint, but it is a chat about creativity in education, not pirates.  I know, I know...ARGH!  Once you decide on a chat, all you have to do is log into Twitter and search for the hashtag of the chat. 

This will filter your feed.  To participate, just make sure to include the hashtag in your tweet.  Be sure to check All Tweets instead of Top tweets or People you follow when you participate in a chat.

From Twitter.com

If you are still not feeling brave enough to jump in, here are a couple of links you can check out to help you come up with some solid strategies for participating in chats:  ​

• Why Tweet? DIY PD Using Twitter
• ​VIdeo tutorial using Tweetdeck
  
• @cybraryman1's "How to chat on Twitter" page​
• ​The Ultimate How-to Guide
  

Why Tweet? A How-to Guide from a Self-Proclaimed Tweep

This past weekend, my school held a 1:1 Learning Institute for our new staff cohort for the year 2013-2014.  The purpose was to help prepare them for 21st Century Teaching and Learning in a 1:1 laptop (BYOD) environment.  My contribution to the institute was a presentation on Do-It-Yourself Professional Development with Twitter.  Imagine cramming all of the yummy goodness of Twitter PD into 25 minutes... Not possible.  I could literally run an entire institute on the benefits of Twitter for PD and it would still feel inadequate. Instead, I shared this how-to doc including links to numerous blog posts and great resources that I have found via...wait for it... Twitter, of course.  For me, Twitter is like the gateway drug to PD euphoria.  It opens up so many possibilities that you didn't even know existed.  Who doesn't want that?  

The way I see it, people tend to fall into three groups where Twitter is concerned. 

​Where do you see yourself?  I would imagine that most people fall into groups 1 or 2. If you see yourself in group 3, my question to you is what are you doing to help your colleagues engage in this form of professional development?  I know it is cliche, but a chain is only as strong a its weakest link.  Time to spread the word and strengthen the chain!  Besides, there is always more that we can learn as educators.  This doc has something for everyone thanks to my virtual PLN.  I encourage you to take a look and dig a little deeper into the powers of the Twittersphere! 

If you are a member of group 1, my advice is to take a look at the Twitter for Educators: A Beginners Guide.  This is a great place to start.  For those of you who are in group 2, you should start to read up on hashtags and Twitter chats.  Mastery of these will definitely bring you to the next level.  For those of you in group 3, expand your PLN, and bring those who work closest to you into the fold so that you can up your game as a department, a school, or a district.  There are links with tips and tricks for everyone on this doc.  ​So take a few minutes to check them out!

Last night I participated in a live chat about #ntchat (new teacher chat) lead by Lisa Dabbs and her team of moderators on Classroom 2.0 live.  The archive to the chat can be found here.  Lisa is the founder and moderator of #ntchat, and I have to give a shout out to her for a job well done.  I grabbed some screenshots of her presentation (so credit to Lisa). 

In her presentation she asks why should we connect? Her response was to build a PLN (Passionate Learning Network according to Lisa... LOVE IT) to provide you with the support and collaboration necessary to help you grow as an educator.  If you are not convinced after reading some of the resources on the doc, you should join one of the Twitter chats to see what they have to offer.  My favorites are #sbgchat, #satchat, #satchatwc, #rechat, #edchat, and #ntchat (regardless of whether you are a new teacher or not).  At the end of her presentation, Lisa left us with this quote, "Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity."  Time to get curious! 

I hope to see some of you there!  Look for @roryaileen.

Dropping the F-bomb in Class Part 2: How?

The real F-bomb associated with using Facebook in class is Fear. 

• Fear that you have to be friends with your students
• Fear that they will see the stuff that you post on your personal page
  
• Fear that you will see the things that they post on their personal page
  

image credit: bit.ly/17k2bC8

Essentially teachers FEAR that their privacy and the privacy of their students will be invaded, and they will suffer the  consequences that come with that especially if you are teaching in the US.  The reality, however is that these are not rational fears if you understand and know how to set up your Facebook groups properly.  

Today, all of our students are using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as their main form of communication.  This can be incredibly dangerous because no one is teaching their adolescent brains how to carry out this discourse responsibly.  Parents, for the most part are not participating on these platforms, and for those that do, they are blissfully unaware of their children's activities and level of vulnerability.  Teachers frequently want to draw the line in the sand and avoid this level of intimacy with students, claiming it is not their responsibility. I am not one of these teachers.  If all of the adults in our students' lives avoid engaging with students on this level, who is looking out for them? I care too much about my students to leave something this important to the uninformed (parents and peers) to guide my students on responsible use of a technology tool that has the potential to have such a huge impact on their future.  I am an educator and my job is to educate and protect my students from their own ignorance until they are mature enough to handle that responsibility on their own and truly understand the consequences of their actions.

Facebook groups are actually more private than most of the platforms offered at your school for student collaboration.  The first thing you should do with your students is show them how to set their privacy settings so that the members of the group (read your teacher) will only be able to see what they want them to see if they are not friends with them on Facebook.  Have your students open up their FB pages and click on the padlock in the upper right hand corner of their page.  They then need to click on "who can see my stuff?".  This will unfold the menu below. 

They should make sure that they have the who can see my future posts designated as friends only.  At this point they might need to go back through previous posts/ pics and change the privacy settings on those individually.  This is something every student should do anyway as I suspect the majority of them have not been smart about their FB usage.  There is a new feature that allows you to see how others view your page.  I would recommend that all of your students do this so that they know what a college recruiter, employer, teacher, parent, or friend can see when they look at their page.    

Since your students are most likely friends with all of the people in your class, the FB group will not change their current vulnerability.  By ensuring that they simply select only friends can view future posts, you are protecting yourself from having to see something that might pop up on your homepage.  Here is a good comprehensive article that you can share with your students about privacy settings.

If you are still uncomfortable about students seeing what you post on your page, then create a separate account just for school.  This however defeats the purpose of having all of your traffic going to one place, as you will have to log into a separate account to retrieve your messages.   

Now for setting up the group.  There are several ways that you can do this.  If you don't want to friend your students, then you need to designate one person (a friend, child, colleague etc.) who is already your Facebook friend to set up the group.  You can delete them immediately after creating your group.   

Step 1: Create Group

Step 1: In the left hand column of your home page  select create group. 
This will bring you to the setup page.  Here you need to name your group, choose one friend to create the group, and then choose your privacy setting.  If you choose secret, no one will be able to find or join your group, so I recommend that you start with closed.  Now click create!

They will then give you the opportunity to choose an icon for your group and you are done.  Once on your group page you need to set it up.  The first thing you should do is click on the wheel and select "edit group settings", which will take you to the settings page (see pic to the left).

Edit group settings

Until everyone joins the group, you want to keep your settings as closed or open.  Once all members have joined, you need to go back and switch it to secret.  Most of the steps are self-explanatory, but you will need to create a URL for your group.  It might take some time transfer from the temporary numerical URL you were assigned.  This is the URL that you will use to share with your students, so you should do this in advance of class by at least an hour to be on the safe side. 

Now it is time to share with your students.  The best way to do this is to have them check their privacy settings at the beginning of class and then share the URL.  You can write it on the board, e-mail it etc.  Have them request membership to the group and then you, as the administrator, will have to click on the check mark next to their request to accept them.  Once all of your students have joined, you can change your privacy settings to secret and get started.  You can also delete members or change roles etc. by clicking on the number of members (2 members in example pic).  This will take you to your members page.  You then click on the wheel below the member's icon and you have the choice to either make admin or delete from group. 

Now you should be ready to go!  Check out my previous post for some great ways to use Facebook groups in your classroom.  By the way, I created a test group so that I could collect screenshots for this post.  See if you can find it!  It is called Biororztest and here is the link! I have the group set to secret, so happy searching!